Red Dot

I don’t understand why these reviews are so low?! I mean it certainly isn’t as awesome as the OG red dot but it’s still a nice establishment. I like the exposed brick wall and the well lite interior. The small bar is charming. Bathrooms are in good repair. We got fast service and actually nicer than the service on the east side. Granted it was a little on th dead side so I would be a lil peeved if we sat forever. The food was good. I think it brings something to the neighborhood like making it less boring and vanilla. Hats off red dot.

So disappointed. My family and I went in on Sunday afternoon for food and drinks. We had to go get our own drinks at the bar since they hadn’t come after 15 minutes of waiting and 2 of them hadn’t even been put in the system yet. Food took a really long time as well and the tots were cold. The service was some of the worst I have ever experienced. Based on the service this isn’t a place I will ever go back to.

I’ve been here twice, once for brunch and once for a late lunch, and I haven’t been disappointed.
During brunch, they have breakfast poutine, with comes with tater tots instead of french fries. It was my first experience with Red Dot — and poutine — so I went ahead and tried it. It was alright, I also had the vegetarian breakfast burrito, and all I have to say is holy eggs, Batman! I’m not complaining however. Our waiter recommended his cure for a hangover, a virgin bloody Mary and a shot of espresso. Our group ordered those all around following our outing the night before, and I think that did the trick.
During my lunch visit, I tried the regular poutine, and I prefer it over the version with the tots. I also had the Duxelle during that visit, and I was amazed. It was SO GOOD.
Good food, good atmosphere, good people. I can never get the WiFi to work though. Cook is a nice guy as well, had a great convo with him after he noticed I had my beau’s USMC PT sweatshirt on. Once a marine always a marine. :)

Absolute rudest bartenders I have ever encountered. The female bartender just ignored my sister and I. The male bartender was rude and condescending. Won’t be returning.

I stopped in for their Wednesday wing special ($ 0.50 each) and was quite happy with their new buffalo wings. The previously had a different buffalo sauce, which was good too, which is why I came back, but it wasn’t your traditional buffalo sauce. The new sauce made the wings even better and is the traditional buffalo sauce you think of when you want wings. Added bonuses: They have awesome music, and the newly remodeled building makes for a great experience.

Great place to get together with friends and enjoy dinner! The Tosa location is spacious and can accommodate a lot of people. Always nice when you have a big group getting together. It’s also walking distance to other great establishments so that’s a nice perk.
Perhaps this was a user error but I did not realize they didn’t serve pizza like the east side location. So heads up, pizza is not on the menu! That was a little disappointing, but again, possibly my own fault.
I had the poutine for the first and it was delicious! Per the suggestion of a friend, I ordered mine with tater tots as opposed to french fries and I am so happy I did. The portion was very large and honestly could have been split in two or even three. I only wish that the gravy would have been hotter because I didn’t feel like the cheese was melted very much. Maybe a bigger gravy portion would have helped with this.
My soda was also flat which was kind of a bummer but the server was very polite about it and brought me a new one immediately.
Not my first choice for dinner out but I will most likely return for more poutine. :)

After several mediocre visits… FINALLY!!! Red Dot has put a GM into place at the Tosa location who is customer friendly.
Spent the afternoon on the patio having a leisurely lunch; she was pleasant and attentive and even more important… she knows how to make a craft cocktail! A margarita on the rocks without a pre-​made sour mix… unheard of in this day and age. Amazing cocktail and amazing crab cakes. We will be back!
Interestingly, we originally set out to dine on BelAire’s patio… SO happy that they were too crowded… margaritas were so much better at Red Dot! Amazing the things one can discover if they keep their options open. :) Skip the wait across the street and give RED DOT another chance.

Party of two. Good find for a drink and a bite to eat. Server was awesome. Wings were meh but Mac and cheese was wonderful. Will definitely be back to with a larger group to give it another try.

New management has really turned this place around! The poutine is legit, service is good now, specials are definitely worth taking a look at. Do it. Now.

Was a bit wary to try this given the mixed reviews, but have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It’s nothing thrilling or exciting, but it’s perfectly fine bar food and service. I ate outside on the surprisingly pleasant patio. Not sure I’d be as keen on eating inside, as it’s still kind of dark and reminiscent of the old Shepard’s. But burger was good, kids options were solid and it was fun to eat outside and watch the sights and sounds of North Avenue. Plus, the laundry next door smells nice!

By far the worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant. Came in at 9 am on 9÷27÷15. Entire staff is drunk, bragging about the night before. After being belittled by a server, we proceeded to order food. The bartender went to the kitchen for 15 minutes, then our food comes out. The chef demands we take our first bite in front of him then the yells to the bartender, «Bryan, check it out» as they proceeded to laugh. A random patron then came over quoting the movie waiting commenting how, «That kind of behavior never occurs in real life.» I found the nearest employee and asked to close our tab. He said there would be no charge which made us feel even more suspicious. To make matters worse I called and talked to someone who claimed to be an owner, she seemed to know about the ordeal. The excuse was that is was Bryan’s last day. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS ESTABLISHMENT TO ANYONE.

I’ve eaten here twice as of today, and I’ve come to the conclusion that Red Dot most definitely doesn’t deserve any more chances to redeem itself.
The food is heavily salted; not to the point of being inedible, but just enough so that every bite is on the verge of being cringe-​worthy.
The meat loaf ($ 13) is a joke. A single slice of meat loaf that’s as long and as thick as a deck of cards doesn’t warrant a $ 13 price tag, especially since it was extremely salty, crumbly, and paired with fingerling potatoes that were supposed to be «smashed», but were instead served whole with gravy drizzled on top. Unappetizing.
The wings we ordered were just on the verge of being dry. I wouldn’t recommend them.
Red Dot, PLEASE do something about your food! This place could be so awesome! Your rating on Unilocal is two and a half stars after EIGHTY reviews — I think it’s time for a change in the kitchen!

Ate outside on the patio. Beautiful summer day.
Thursday is $ 1.50 tacos and they are scrumptious!
The poutine is a huge plate fit for the whole crowd. My 8 year old really enjoyed it. Kids meals are huge as well but priced more than normal kids meals.
We will be back!

Every time I go here just gets worse and worse. I am so surprised by the differences between this place and the fun, hopping place on the East Side. Seriously, there is always a line out the door, their menu is different and the staff is superb on the other side of town — this place has flippant staff, mediocre food and slowwww service.
My most recent visit was on Friday, and I went in around 4:30. There wasn’t anyone else in the place yet, and our server came right over. I ordered a cider and a side salad to start. Their blue cheese dressing is very… odd. It was an orange color and had no trace chunks of cheese in it at all. The poutine on the east side seriously has graced my dreams and bordered on foreplay. This poutine… was not. The regular size does seem to have gone up in size, but I still didn’t even make it through half. I always get tots — way better… but herein lies the problem. It seems that they put cold cheese curds (NOT the squeakers that really make the dish desirable), and then pour the hot gravy over it. This leads to the problem of the curds never really melting onto the potatoes. They don’t stretch and are not good. The gravy cools quickly and the film is gross too.
I don’t know… nothing redeeming about this place to bring me back again.

The poutine here is excellent and truly traditional though we added bacon. Our group of 7 got very good service and did not encounter the service problems other groups have mentioned. The burgers were good but nothing special. Unfortunately the salmon was dry and overcooked though the asparagus side was very good. So overall we’d come back for the poutine.

I don’t get why there is so much hate here. We had a really nice experience with a super sweet, efficient, and attentive waitress.
This seems like a fun bar with a more narrow bar area, and separate dining area with large booths and tables. We were just coming in for drinks, and they had ample draft, bottle, and cocktail options. I was very conflicted in my choice, since there were so many good options for me!
Drink prices were reasonable ($ 5 for the beers, cocktails more like 7 – 9). The bathroom was clean. Wouldn’t hesitate to return again if in the area!

I’ve been here a few times and have been very frustrated with service. Tonight was the worst. The check was printed at 7:27 pm and we were still waiting to pay at 8:49. We came in for sandwiches and left nearly 2 hours later. They charge extra for every little thing, including ranch that I got after I was done eating. I will not be back.

This is a nope for me. I’ve hit this spot up a couple of times and it’s just been meh to average. The poutine was good, if not too salty. The service has been spotty, and the drink prices weren’t anything special. Not on my return list anytime soon.

Let me start by saying that I prefer this location to the one on the eastside. It’s bigger, has a better vibe and the food just overall seems better.
I met my sister here around 5pm on a Thursday night. When we go there we were seated right away and it wasn’t busy (yet). They had a decent happy hour with drink specials but I don’t recall the specifics. Our server was friendly enough and visited our table the right amount of times.
We had the poutine which I always get when I go there. At the other location I’ve ordered it where the gravy is cold which makes the rest of the dish cold. Not cool. But here is was the right temperature.
I decided to get the blackened salmon with veggies and the fish was well prepared and tasted great. I didn’t come in thinking I would have salmon but I’m glad I did. My sis got a salad and it was huge! It looked very fresh and she enjoyed it.
Eventually the place got busier but no so busy that people had to wait. I saw a couple of families with younger kids, some couples, friends out. A good mix of people.
What they’ve done with the building just makes a huge difference. Shepherd’s was basically a dive bar and the interior was dingy. They have seating at the bar of course and several smaller tables in the bar area. Around the corner is the main dining area and there’s even a cute, almost private area in the back with several tables. Now it has a warm, cute vibe and I’ll be back for sure!

So this area of tosa reminds me sometimes of my little sliver of Brady st.
People coming to my neighborhood:
«I’m having to parking miles away from your place!»
Me, looking at my off street parking spot:
«I see no problems and really have no idea what you’re complaining about.»
The red dot is locating in the very bustling (both with cars and pedestrians) north avenue area of east tosa.
Between the Rosebud theater, Rocket Baby Bakery, Bel Air, Camp Bar and now the Red Dot (to name the most popular places) there’s a lot going on here! So parking if you’re not in the ‘hood sometimes requires some maneuvering!
So after a several around the block drives, a parking spot found a couple blocks away, and the 45 min wait we were quoted at Bel Airs Taco Tuesday, we arrived a little hungry and weary at the «please seat yourself» hostess stand at the Red Dots entrance.
The bar is first when you walk in. Another large room to the left housed a lot of tables and a real mix of people. The bar (which we ate at) was mainly dudes when we sat down and became progressively more busy and varied as the night went on with what also seemed like a lot of regulars. Inside, its sort of slightly modern Northwood-​sy meets dive bar.
Food: When it says «poutine» on the restaurants sign, I feel like maybe ordering poutine is the way to go. We unfortunately didn’t, and the grilled cheese sandwich was ok. They did however have baked potato soup (which I sampled around Milwaukee area restaurant’s last polar vortex [winter] like it was a fine wine.) Red dot’s potato soup was excellent. Should’ve went with this and poutine.
Drinks: lots of specials, lots of beers and most importantly, lots of ciders (maybe 8 – 10). They had a cherry one for $ 6 that was delicious.
Service: I felt like they really needed two people at the bar, our girl was busy. All seats full with both drink and food orders, and people putting money and an empty glass on the bar and saying they need it filled with **insert regular’s drink order here** while they went outside to smoke. There was only one bartender the whole time and I really feel they could have used two for the after work happy hour crowd.
All in all, I feel this place works better as a get some drinks and maybe an appetizer place than a stop for a full dinner place but it seems to fit the area well and its always nice to see a lot of different options in a neighborhood.